1. Field of Invention
The disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to a configurable radio unit capable of being commonly manufactured and thereafter programmed to a customer's specifications.
2. Related Art
Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones to provide an example, are becoming commonplace in both personal and commercial settings. The wireless communication devices provide users with access to all kinds of information, as well as the ability to communicate with other such devices across large distances. For example, a user can access the internet through an internet browser on the device, download miniature applications (e.g., “apps”) from a digital marketplace, send and receive emails, or make telephone calls using a voice over internet protocol (VoIP). Consequently, wireless communication devices provide users with significant mobility, while allowing them to remain “connected” to communication channels and information.
Wireless communication devices communicate with one or more other wireless communication devices or wireless access points to send and receive data. Typically, a first wireless communication device generates and transmits a radio frequency signal modulated with encoded information. This radio frequency signal is transmitted into a wireless environment and is received by a second wireless communication device. The second wireless communication device demodulates and decodes the received signal to obtain the information. The second wireless communication device may then respond in a similar manner. The wireless communication devices can communicate with each other or with access points using any well-known modulation scheme, including: amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), phase shift keying (PSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), and/or orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), as well as any other communication scheme that is now, or will be, known.
In many wireless communication environments, one of the first or second wireless communication device functions as a base station that provides communication between user devices and a central communication infrastructure. In such a base station a radio unit is typically positioned at a physically high point of a cellular tower for communication with user devices. However, a significant portion of signal processing actually takes place in a baseband processor located at a significant distance from the radio unit, e.g., in a bunker underground or in a nearby by communications facility.
In conventional base stations, the baseband module and the radio module communicate with one another under a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) or other interface. However, in many base stations, each service provider may have its own baseband processor which operates in a proprietary fashion so as to allow the service provider to monopolize its own equipment. In order to facilitate communication between the radio unit and the service provider's unique baseband processor, the service provider must therefore provide a FPGA (field-programmable gate array) or other programmable circuitry that converts information communications received by the radio unit into information that can be processed by its own baseband processor, and vice versa.